Best day of the year (after July 4th)

It’s my birthday!!

Yaay! I’m 26! Four years to 30, woohoo!

I love my birthday. Mostly because when we were kids my mom made birthdays such a big deal that I now have a positive Pavlovian response to anything birthday related. I always wake up super early in anticipation of my early morning birthday phone calls (which were not forthcoming with my being in Africa, sadly). And I always play Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday”, even though it’s about Martin Luther King Jr. and not me. But still, I could have a holiday! And then I check my email and open my Hallmark E-Cards from my mom and aunt (they sent me awesome ones this year. Did you know Alvin Ailey has e-cards?). And then I check Facebook throughout the day to see who’s sending birthday greetings on my wall.

As a girl, I feel incredibly lucky that my birthday is in October. Not only because it’s the best month ever, and totally beautiful, but because it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. Long ago I instituted a policy that anything I buy for myself in the entire month of October is a birthday gift. Note: This is a dangerous policy. Especially in October, when everything is pink and you can buy anything and 10% goes to a charity that is near and dear to my heart (my Grandmother had breast cancer but she DETECTED IT EARLY and is amazing and strong and now she’s fine). So the policy quickly became “Anything-I-buy-in-October-is-a-birthday-present-plus-if-it’s-pink-it’s-for-a-good-cause-too” and that is why I never have any money in October. Sadly, I’m traveling and broke so I couldn’t buy anything for myself. Well, I couldn’t buy much for myself. ;-) But I’m also having a birthday in Africa so I figured that made up for it.

So anyways, today I woke up, listened to my birthday song, and jammed to “I Gotta Feeling” while I got dressed. Then I drove to work (it’s a beautiful sunny day btw) and Mzu had gotten me a beautiful birthday cake! One of his friends made it and it’s the most delicious and chocolatey cake that I have had in a long time. In fact, I had two slices for breakfast and I’ll probably have it for lunch too. And then I’m going to buy vanilla ice cream and have it for dinner. :-/ Yum!

Lill’s birthday is on the 27th so we were already planning on having a joint “do” (last year we went to Orlando with a big group of friends) so this weekend we’re taking Thursday and Friday off of work and going to Durban to party with our friends! We are sooo excited and I think it’s really going to be a great weekend. Yaay!

Anyways, happy birthday to me!

Ciao,
k